Dec. 13—GRAND FORKS — A Gonvick, Minnesota, man plans to stand trial for six sex crimes he is accused of committing against two minors in Grand Forks County.
Anthony Levias Eley, 55, is charged with three counts of gross sexual imposition, a Class AA felony, on a minor under 15 years of age.
Class AA felonies carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Eley is also charged with one count of class C felony contributing to the deprivation or delinquency of a minor and two counts of class C misdemeanor possession of certain prohibited material.
In February 2023, a 9-year-old girl reported that Eley had sexually abused her since she was 7 years old, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
She said Eley also made her perform a sex act with another young child and took photos and videos of it. He threatened to show the footage to others if she told anyone what happened, the affidavit said.
Eley allegedly told police he had recorded a video of the children performing sex acts, but said he simply walked in on them and recorded it as a way to scare them.
The video, as well as an additional sexual photo of the girl and a man, was found in Eley’s email account, the affidavit said.
The alleged sexual abuse is believed to have occurred from approximately August 2020 through July 2021.
Eley appeared in court on Thursday, December 12 for his final dispositional conference. His attorney said they planned to take the case to a jury trial.
A status conference was scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 17. The trial could start the next day.
